In order to speed up the building of a new dormitory on the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands, the school’s Board of Trustees Saturday approved a process to let the design and construction contracts in one bid instead of two, even as it acknowledged that if the bond markets don’t improve, the whole project will be delayed.

Meeting Saturday morning in the St. Croix campus’s Great Hall, the board accepted the recommendation from its Buildings and Grounds committee to adopt the design-build process.

Typically such a project would be handled in two phases, committee chairman Henry C. Smock said. First, a contract would be let for the design of the building. When a design was approved, contractors would compete for the contract to build it.

But following that path would delay the opening of the building two to three months after the start of the academic year, Smock said. Typically on colleges around the U.S., new dorms open at the start of the school year. The delay would cause a loss in revenues for the school.

Instead, Smock said, the committee recommended that the school follow a design-build process in which proposals are requested for one contract. The firms would be bidding to both design and then build the new dorms.

UVI President David Hall said despite reservations, "We just did not see another way to get around the time issue."

Under the university’s plan, the 100-room dormitory would cost about $11 million and be ready to open for the beginning of the 2012 school year.

However, that timing could be thrown off the current state of the bond market. Board Chairman Alex Moorhead said current rates on the market are still too high to justify financing a major project.

If that turns out to be the case, Hall said after the meeting, the board will have to revisit the project.

Hall also informed the board that UVI’s St. John Academic Center soon will be ready, with a launch ceremony set for March 27. The center will make it possible for students on the island to take UVI classes through video conferencing, and even allow some classes to be held there.

"For the first time we will have a significant academic presence on the island of St. John," Hall said.